Dvorkinnian Culture, Technology, and Terms
The Dvorkinnian race is a hybrid of Dwarven and Human. This is the result of a failed migration attempt by the Tanathians, although the political circumstances that resulted in this particular colonization have long been lost to time. What is known is that at some during the golden age of the Tanathian Empire, a collection of Dwarves must have contracted with the Tanathians to use their skeins to translate a Dwarven constituent to another realm for the purpose of establishing a colony. The world they selected appears to have been one containing considerable mineral wealth, and its primary purpose was mining. The collected ore was shipped to other colonies and back to the Tanathian homeworld. At some point before or after the fall of Tanathis, this world's skeins ceased to function. This isn't unusual. Most Tanathian colonies were isolated for a hundred to several thousand years after the fall. When these skeins ceased to function, a fairly large contingency of humans existed on the Dvworkinnian colony. Over time, the Dwarves and Humans there intermingled, eventually coming once species. Dvorkinnians are larger than Dwarves, but shorter than Humans. They stand about five feet tall on average, with the females a few inches shorter than the males. They are a physically robust species, with the most notable features their forearms and calves, which are oversized in comparison to both Dwarves and Humans. They tend to have large jawbones as well, giving their faces a wide appearance. Facial hair tends to vary, with many having none at all and being incapable of growing any. Others are capable of full beards, but this is no longer typically in style among the Dvorkinn. The term "Dvorkinnian" means "Dwarf-Kin of Tanathis." Culture and Technology Like their ancestors, the Dvorkinnians are exceptionally good with mechanics and magical rune lore. Their technology is quite advanced. They have maintained their predilection for dwelling underground, and have developed many techniques for underground construction. For this reason, they were an early target for the Drathraq, who found and enslaved their world not long after establishing Hulu as the home Drathraq realm. Roughly half the population of the Dvorkinnian homeworld was relocated to Hulu to serve as construction slaves for the Drathraq. Much of Hulu was designed and built by Dvorkinnians. Those remaining on the Dvorkinnian homeworld were directed toward research and development of weaponry for the Drathraq legions. The Drathraq consider the Dvorkinnians a valuable slave species, and do not consume them because of this. Additionally, their blood is so similar to Human (which is in large supply) that they have almost no value as a consumable item for the Drathraq. Thus, the Drathraq have entered into a sort of unspoken contract with the Dvorkinnians - they are allowed to survive and breed so long as they maintain their service value to the Drathraq. But they are still slaves, and while they are provided certain privileges compared to other slaves, they still chaff under Drathraq rule and long for revolution. The Drathraq, naturally, assimilated all existing Dvorkinnian technology and lore into their own, and many weapons utilized by the Drathraq have Dvorkinnian origins. Most notably vehicles and mecha.